


What Are Friends For?

by ScripStrel



Series: Stagedorks [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: F/M, Pining, Supportive Michael, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 06:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14182566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScripStrel/pseuds/ScripStrel
Summary: Michael would do anything for his best friend, and if that means midnight phone calls to discuss Jeremy's crippling feelings for Christine Canigula, so be it.Stagedorks pining Jeremy with supportive Michael, because I don't see enough of that.





	What Are Friends For?

**Jer:** _ Okay, so here’s the thing _

 

Michael stared at his phone. It was like midnight and he had to be up early in the morning, but it didn’t matter. Jeremy never texted him in parts like this. It was always “Hey, so I found out…” or “Did you know…” or “Do you want to…” Jeremy texted in paragraphs. He hadn’t ever been a double texter. This was weird. It didn’t matter how late it was or that he was bundled in blankets on his grandparents’ couch with his cousins piled on mattresses around him. This was going to be easier to say than to type.

 

_ Hold up for a sec,  _ Michael texted.  _ I’m gonna facetime you. This sounds important. _

 

**Jer:** _ Oh… Okay. _

 

Michael snatched his headphones from where he’d tossed them on the coffee table, opting to leave his glasses off. It didn’t matter anyway. If he could see well enough to text, he could see well enough to video chat. Half-stumbling over sleeping bodies, he made his way to the bathroom and flicked on the light. He perched on the edge of the bathtub, plugged in the headphones, and called Jeremy, who answered almost immediately.

 

“Yikes dude,” Michael whispered, muffling laughter with one hand. “You look like ass. What’s wrong?” Jeremy was in bed, his hair a rumpled mess, his face blotchy and his eyes distant and glassy. He was probably high. Either that, or he’d just been crying. 

 

“Why would something be wrong?” Michael rolled his eyes. 

 

“Look, just because I’m not there doesn’t mean I can’t tell when you’re lying.” Jeremy groaned. 

 

“I wish you were here. I just need to veg out and kick your ass in Smash or something. That would help.”

 

“Sorry, man. It’s not my fault I got dragged along to my uncle’s wedding.”

 

“No, I know.” Jeremy sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I just… ugh.”

 

“I feel you, dude.” Michael shifted his weight, kicking at the old yarn bath mat. 

 

“Which uncle is it?”

 

“Uncle D.”

 

“…What does that stand for, again?” Jeremy was scrunching his brow, eyes squinted as he fought to find the name he definitely didn’t know.

 

“I have no fucking idea. I never see this side of the family. All I know is he’s a bit of a dick who drinks way too much soda, and that’s coming from me.” Jeremy laughed. “Seriously! The amount of Diet Coke that goes into this guy’s system is gonna give him cancer!”

 

“Right! It’s that uncle you look just like! I met him that one Thanksgiving!” 

 

“Shut up! It’s not my fault I look like him!” But Michael was smiling. Jeremy was laughing. If he had been crying before he called, he wasn’t now. “Honestly, I don’t think anyone actually knows how he’s related to the rest of us. Like, we call him uncle, but he’s not actually my mom’s brother. For all I know he’s in witness protection or something.”

 

“For all you know, he could be your biological dad, just hanging around to keep an eye on you.” Michael was laughing too, now. 

 

“Well he’s doing a pretty shit job at it.” Michael let himself slip backwards into the bathtub, turning to lean against the wall. He blinked in the new darkness of the shower curtain, suddenly reminded of how late it was and how tired he was. Family vacations were exhausting. 

Jeremy’s laughter faded. “Thanks, man.”

 

“Comic relief to the rescue. That’s my job.” He took a deep breath. “Now… you wanna talk about it?”

 

“Yeah, I guess… I don’t know, Michael.” Jeremy slid down in bed, staring down his nose at the phone on his chest. “Like, you know what kind of shitty luck I’ve had with girls. Dating is so messy. I’m not sure I could deal with it again.”

 

“Uh oh.” 

 

Jeremy snorted. “Yeah. But I may kind of like someone and I’ve been trying to ignore it, but I’ve liked her for like six months and it’s really starting to be a problem. You can probably guess who it is.”

 

“Christine?” Michael raised an eyebrow. 

 

“Yeah.” Jeremy sat up, his hair flopping. “And I feel so stupid, because so many people have ended up liking Christine. Remember what Evan said about her before he graduated?”

 

“Everyone’s had at least a friend crush on her?”

 

“Yeah. That. I feel like such a dickhole.”

 

“Why? She’s sweet. There’s a reason everyone likes her,” Michael said with a shrug. 

 

“Because she’s my best friend other than you and I’ve been trying so hard to let it blow over because I really don’t want to date anyone after how it went with Brooke and Chloe at that stupid Halloween party. And, I mean, we’ve been really good friends since the play last year and I don’t know how, but she’s told me things she’s only ever told, like, her mom. And it’s all really personal, and I feel so gross. It’s like I broke some kind of trust because now I’m just one of all the people who like her.” Jeremy sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. 

 

“It would probably help if you just told her. She’s good at understanding things like that,” Michael said. 

 

“Okay, but she’s actually really oblivious and I’m terrified she’ll find out and freak. As if I wasn’t anxious and paranoid enough.”

 

“Tell her.”

 

“I’m just really worried she’ll stop talking to me and stop trusting me. I really like being her friend, and this is the last thing I want, but I really can’t help it. But I know she doesn’t like me back. She’s still head over heels for Jake, of all people. And if I tell her, it’ll be super awkward and I can’t deal with that right now.” Jeremy was throwing his hands around, staring into space. He did that a lot when he was worked up, but his voice was raising in pitch. Frantic. This was bad.

 

“Right, but Christine’s a sweet girl. She knows better than to make it awkward. And she might be proud of you for admitting it.” Michael picked at the grout in the corner of the bathtub, scraping the pad of his finger against the rough concrete. “And it’ll make you feel better.”

 

“No way!” Jeremy snatched at his phone, staring at Michael. “It’ll make it so much worse. She won’t tell me anything anymore, and if she didn’t tell someone, she’d probably explode. You know how bubbly she is? No one’s that happy unless they’ve got some deep shit behind them, and I promise you she does. I can’t do that to her.”

 

“Wow. Okay.” Michael flinched a little at the intensity of Jeremy’s gaze and voice. This was really fucking serious. “How hard is it to ignore how you feel for the sake of the friendship?” Jeremy relaxed a bit.

 

“I mean, I’ve been doing it since last spring, it’s just been really bad this week. Like, she’s started saying she loves me? Just in that friendly way like we say to each other a lot. Like, whatever, but it does this weird thing where it still makes my heart beat too fast? I hate it so much.” Michael sighed and shifted to sit cross-legged. He went to push his glasses up his nose, hitting himself in the face because he wasn’t actually wearing them. 

 

“Well, dude, maybe you should just enjoy what you’ve got. Enjoy spending time with her when you can and try to ignore it? Love you too, by the way.” Jeremy snorted. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, thanks. I think that’s the plan. So far it’s only made me like her more, but I don’t know what else to do. You cool if I vent to you whenever it gets really bad?”

 

“Of course, dude. I’m offended you even have to ask. But like, if you find a time when it would be healthy for both of you, you should tell her. Remember when I couldn’t get over Nicole even though she’s a total bitch?” Jeremy nodded, biting his lip. “Yeah. Repressed feelings are bullshit and you shouldn’t sit with them for too long.”

 

“Yeah. I know. I’m just scared. Like, this is heavy, and I don’t want to wreck it. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just ask her to prom when that comes around and see what happens.”

 

“That’d be chill. It wouldn’t even have to be a date. We went to prom last year, remember?” Michael said with a smirk.

 

“Of course I do. I still can’t convince Rich that that  _ wasn’t _ a date.”

 

“Well, hey. You have good taste.” Michael winked. Jeremy choked out a laugh. “I mean, look. Christine’s really sweet. She seriously deserves all the love she can get. She deserves all the good in the world. She’s lucky to have someone like you. I mean, you’re putting her first in this. Most people wouldn’t bother. She’s a good human and needs people who can remind her of that.”

 

“You have no idea how much of that is a defense mechanism. Her friendly confidence thing? Yeah. There’s a lot underneath there.”

 

“I’ll bet. I won’t ask. I mean, it’s her business. But treat her right, dude.”

 

“Pffft. I barely know how to treat myself, but I’m trying.” Jeremy rolled his eyes and leaned back against his headboard. “I should probably get to bed. You know, so I stay sane.”

 

“‘Course, dude. I’ve got a wedding to go to tomorrow and it’s,” he glanced at the top of the screen, “like one-thirty here, so I gotta get to bed, too. Thanks for talking to me, though.”

 

“Yeah, man. You’re my best friend. We tell each other everything. I trust you more than I trust myself most of the time. I probably should’ve told you earlier, but I was kinda in massive denial. You know. Thanks, though. You helped me clear my head a little.”

 

“It’s no problem, Jeremy. Goodnight. Good luck. Love you.” Michael stood, stretching out the kinks in his joints from sitting in the cold porcelain tub. 

 

“Shut up,” Jeremy groaned with a soft smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Love you too. Goodnight. Have fun at the wedding.”

 

“Will do. Then I can rant to you about my obnoxious cousins on the way home, so be ready for that.” Michael dropped his voice as he clambered back onto the couch in the dark living room, making sure not to disturb said cousins in their sleeping bags. 

 

“Got it. And Michael?” He and Jeremy met eyes through the screen, across hundreds of miles. Whatever either of them were going through, they had this. They were practically brothers. Michael would gladly do whatever he needed to to keep Jeremy happy, and he knew his friend would do the same for him. It was nice, and if this thing with Christine worked out, then all the better. Jeremy deserved all the good in the world, too. “Really, thanks.”

 

Michael gave him a finger gun and a smirk, ending the call. He curled back up in his grandmother-ordered mountain of blankets, smiling. It was so good to hear Jeremy’s voice when he’d been stuck dealing with relatives he barely knew, and he was more than happy to help with whatever. Honestly, he would help Jeremy hide a body without question if it came down to it. A crush was nothing, even if Michael had very little experience. Besides, what were friends for?

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, "Uncle D." was meant to be a Lightning Thief reference.  
> This is a whole lot of self-projecting of me attempting to help a friend figure out their feelings. I considered doing it with Boyf Riends, but this feels better.


End file.
